Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Primerica (NYSE:PRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

PRI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Primerica from $239.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $314.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Primerica in a research report on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.33.

Primerica Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE PRI traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $296.85. 30,383 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,166. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74 and a beta of 1.08. Primerica has a 52 week low of $184.76 and a 52 week high of $304.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $272.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.55.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Primerica’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Primerica will post 19.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is 27.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primerica news, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total transaction of $507,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,846,081.35. This trade represents a 11.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,500 shares of company stock worth $1,803,175. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Primerica by 30,726.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,102,000 after purchasing an additional 678,752 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Primerica by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 99,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,601,000 after acquiring an additional 39,761 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Primerica by 2,986.9% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 32,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,595,000 after acquiring an additional 31,064 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Primerica in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 359,742.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 25,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,679,000 after purchasing an additional 25,182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Company Profile

Primerica, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The company operates in four segments: Term Life Insurance; Investment and Savings Products; Senior Health; and Corporate and Other Distributed Products.